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Tips for getting a toddler to stay in bed…
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So, we are in the process of changing my 2 year old over to sleeping in a ‘big girl bed’ and encountering way more problems than we had with either of my older 2 kiddos. I don’t like having to spank her repeatedly, especially because in this particular case it does seem to phase her. (In general, she is responsive to discipline…just not with the bed for some reason.) Any ideas? Seems like there was a thread on this some time ago, but I can’t seem to find it now.
Thanks for any tips!
Jen
Haha, that was my thread. 🙂 Here it is: http://simplycharlottemason.com/scmforum/topic/help-with-toddler-getting-out-of-bed Hopefully this will give you some ideas!
I remember locking the door:) I believe we just put her down w/her routine and locked the door and used the ‘cheater keys’ that fit in the hole to check on her. I’ve heard of people using those doors like the children’s nurseries have w/the door cut in two and the top part swings open/locks. Of course, you’d want to make sure there was nothing to harm her in the room. My dd would cry a bit and eventually fall asleep! Blessings, Gina
With my first I tried switching him to a big boy bed at 2 and it was such a hassle (I had a newborn too) I put the crib back up and he started sleeping again. He slept in his crib until he was 3 and transitioned effortlessly then. My youngest also stayed in her crib until she was 3 and I never had a problem. My middle daughter figured out how to climb out of her crib when she was 2 and it was a nightmare.
If she sleeps well in a crib, maybe you could postpone the big bed for a while until she matures a bit. They develop so quickly at that age a few months might make a big difference.
Tara
She goes to bed without any fuss, I tuck her in, we have a few minutes of snuggle time, she just gets up and down again about 500 times until she falls asleep. It was better last night because I closed her blind all the way so it was dark in the room and closed the door, but naptime is a whole other ball of wax. We decided to try the bed in part because she herself asked for it (she’s on this ‘I want to be a big girl’ kick!) and part because she is very close to figuring out how to climb out of the crib and I didn’t want to give her anymore time there to figure it out. (This is my daredevil child!)
Thanks Sara B for the link…I knew we’d talked about this here before! I find it a little ironic that I posted some ideas on that…and now look at me…HA! Don’t you love those moments when you think you’ve got the whole parenting thing figured out and then you have a child that just defies all your expectations?!
Jen
I guess you could go with …. If you want to be a big girl you have to sleep in your bed. 🙂
Mine just liked the snuggling a little to much. About 5 am we would find ourselves with a bed bug… 🙂
Just tell her she is to big and three of you can’t sleep in the bed anymore. Tell her you will have to put a lock on the door if she keeps coming in because you can’t sleep when she come in. Then you are grouchy the next morning. If that doesn’t work put the lock on and don’t open it up…. NOT for anything! 🙂
BLessings! and have a good night sleep………. zzzzzz
When there is other things that need your attention and you are just waiting for the kids to go to bed so you can get them done, this can be very frustrating!! Been there. Still am sometimes with my 6 y/o. Why at 6 does she still think that she should get up after bedtime and play with her toys or bug her sister?!? Something that I have used in the past and still do on occasion when needed is to take a book or my knitting and sit in the room. They aren’t so likely to make noise or get up if you are sitting right there. So, I sit and read or knit or something quit while they go to sleep. Then you hope that the laying quietly and going to sleep becomes a habit and you aren’t still sitting in there room waiting for them to go to sleep when they are 16!! =)
Is it possible that with napping she is not ready to go to sleep when she is being put to bed? Can she listen to stories or music at bedtime?
I really don’t like the idea of locking a child in his/her room. Just really strikes me as wrong somehow that I can’t put my finger on. (And we are not on the permissive side of parenting.)
we’ve had this struggle and still have it with ours – I kept my twins in their cribs until they were almost 5 because of it (they are small, so they weren’t cramped – they are still in the same bed, just no sides now). We have yet to find a magic pill – they will bicker all day and then decide to be chummy, chatty and silly at bedtime (they all share a room). Some of the things we tried were:music, me sitting back there until they fell asleep, cutting out the afternoon nap and going to “quiet time” – one thing that seemed to make a difference with all of mine was them not being able to leave the room, even if they got up as long as they didn’t exit the room, it was a bit easier to deal with and they settled down quicker than if they walked into the living room – we used baby gates and we lock the door. HiddenJewel, just to calm any concerns, our house is really small, so if there was an emergency I would hear them, and we always unlock it before we go to bed – I wouldn’t feel comfortable with them locked in all night 😉
Yeah, I don’t think we would have ever kept it locked all night….I believe it was just until she fell asleep and I only remember it being nap times, not bedtime. And she got the point quickly. Memory is foggy, but I think it only took a few times….
Oh my, Sorry I didn’t see this post sooner.. 🙂 I have been sick and it must have slipped by me…
I didn’t mean lock the child in her/ his room. I meant put a lock on your door. LOL…
Sorry I didn’t make that clear. They may sleep outside your door for a few nights before they realize their bed is more comfortable. I guess that could be considered cruel too though… 🙂
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